Wineland (20-8-1, 2-2 UFC) cracked the Englishman repeatedly with
damaging right hands en route to a split decision victory at
UFC 155 “Dos Santos vs. Velasquez” on Saturday at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Two of the three cageside judges scored
it 30-27 for Wineland; a third cast a puzzling 29-28 vote for
Pickett (22-7, 2-2 UFC).

“He’s got a melon on him like a coconut,” Wineland said. “I hit him
with everything I had. I felt him go limp, but I just couldn’t put
him away. He regained his composure really well. He’s a tough,
solid dude, and I was impressed. I hit him hard.”

Wineland set the tone midway through round one when he dropped
Pickett to a knee with a series of powerful right hands. The
American Top Team standout recovered and kept his head in the
fight, only to watch Wineland bob and weave out of danger and
continue to peck away with his punches. Pickett opened a cut near
Wineland’s right eye with a left hook in the second round and
another small gash across the bridge of his nose in the third, but
those were merely small victories inside a much larger battle that
did not go his way.

“I pride myself on the way I push myself, and that’s how I train,”
Wineland said. “I train hard, and I fight hard. I come to go from
minute one to minute 15.”

A wicked knee to the body changed the complexion of the fight in an
instant. Perez pursued his wounded quarry to the canvas and set up
shop in top position. From there, the punches and elbows flowed,
one of them opening a nasty gash near Bloodworth’s hairline. That
cued Perez to pick up his pace.

Soon after, referee Kim Winslow had seen enough and intervened on
the fallen fighter’s behalf.

Perez (13-4, 3-0 UFC) has finished all three of his UFC opponents
inside one round.

D.
Mandel

Varner did enough to outpoint Guillard.

Resurgent Varner Outpoints Guillard

Takedowns, ground-and-pound and effective power punching carried
former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Jamie Varner
to a split decision over Melvin
Guillard in an undercard tilt at 155 pounds. All three judges
scored it 30-27, two of them siding with the victorious Varner
(21-7-1, 3-2 UFC).

Guillard (30-12-2, 11-8 UFC) leaned heavily on leg kicks,
particularly in the first round. Varner was not dissuaded.

The resurgent MMA Lab export absorbed the punishment and kept
pressing forward, his stout right hand firing freely. In rounds two
and three, Varner brought out the takedowns, answering Guillard’s
jab and leg kicks by grounding him repeatedly.

Varner delivered three takedowns in the third round alone and
withstood a Hail Mary armbar attempt from his Florida-based foe.
Once on the cusp of lightweight title contention, Guillard has lost
four of his last five bouts.

D.
Mandel

Jury seriously took it to Johnson.

Jury Ground Game Overwhelms Johnson

Alliance MMA’s Myles Jury
kept his perfect professional record intact with a one-sided
unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 finalist
Michael
Johnson in an undercard bout at 155 pounds. All three cageside
judges scored it the same: 30-27 for the unbeaten Jury (11-0, 2-0
UFC).

A 24-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, Jury struck for
takedowns in all three rounds. The Hazel Park, Mich., native carved
through Johnson’s guard with surprising ease, attacking him with
elbows and punches from top position. Johnson (12-7, 4-3 UFC) had
no answers from his back. Jury iced the victory with a strong third
round, as he lured the Blackzilians export into the clinch, scored
with a nice trip takedown and racked up the points with effective
ground-and-pound.

The defeat halted Johnson’s three-fight winning streak.

Duffee Waylays Englishman De Fries

D.
Mandel/Sherdog.com

Duffee crumbled De Fries to the canvas.

Todd Duffee
wiped out Philip De
Fries with a searing right uppercut and a series of thudding
follow-up shots 2:04 into the first round of their preliminary
heavyweight scrap. The 27-year-old Duffee (8-2, 2-1 UFC), who had
not competed inside the Octagon in more than two years, now owns
seven first-round finishes among his eight professional
victories.

De Fries (9-2, 2-2 UFC) struck for a takedown inside the first
minute and unloaded with a volley of right hands when the
American Kickboxing Academy export attempted to rise to his
feet against the cage.

Duffee welcomed the punishment in exchange for a more advantageous
position. Once the two men separated, De Fries was in serious
trouble. Duffee cracked the Englishman with a beautiful right
uppercut, trailed him to the fence with straight right hands and
polished him off with one last left hook.

All three cageside judges scored it 29-28, two of them for the
21-year-old Holloway (7-1, 3-1 UFC) -- a late replacement for the
injured Cody
McKenzie.

Garcia (15-10-1, 2-6 UFC) landed with more accuracy and authority,
but still fell short on the scorecards.

The 33-year-old Plainview, Texas, native rebounded from a slow
start in the first round and had Holloway in an almost perpetual
backpedal during the final 10 minutes. With Terminator-like
conviction, he aggressively pursued Holloway on the feet, splitting
the Sin City air with the wild power punches for which he has
become known.

Holloway, who sat down Garcia with a straight left hand 90 seconds
into the bout, countered well but fatigued noticeably in rounds two
and three. The “Bad Boy” stayed in his face with looping punches
and mixed in a pair of takedowns, but he did not do enough in the
eyes of the judges to avoid his fourth defeat in as many
fights.

Cariaso (14-4, 4-2 UFC) was effective with kicks to the legs, body
and head throughout the first 10 minutes. He occasionally mixed in
well-timed punching combinations and even threw in a late
second-round takedown. A little more than a minute into round
three, Moraga lulled his foe into a false sense of security in the
clinch.

The 28-year-old Phoenix native trapped Cariaso in a standing
guillotine choke, forced him to a seated position against the cage
and sealed the deal.